When the Major League Baseball (MLB) team Kansas City Royals won the World Series in 2015, the City celebrated at the Union Station (Kansas City, Missouri, US) and at the Washington Square Park (Kansas City).
The ninth 2024 Coliseum US meet was held at the 76,416-capacity GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri (US) from June 5th-6th. On June 6th, a venue tour was undertaken of the 37,903-capacity Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, which is the home ballpark of the Major League Baseball (MLB) team Kansas City Royals.
‘bnim.com’ stated that since then the location has hosted multiple Super Bowl celebrations and was the shining star of the National Football League (NFL) Draft. With its magical connection to the victories, a group of Downtown Business owners envision an even greater civic win: A downtown home for the Royals.
The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri (US). The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League Central Division.
The 37,903-capacity Kauffman Stadium, often called ‘The K’, is a baseball stadium located in Kansas City, Missouri (US). It is the home ballpark of the Major League Baseball’s Kansas City Royals. It is next door to the Arrowhead Stadium, home of the National Football League’s (NFL’s) Kansas City Chiefs. Both make up the Truman Sports Complex.
New York (US)-based the Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league and the highest level of organized baseball in the United States and Canada. One of the big four major leagues, the MLB comprises 30 teams divided equally between the National League and the American League with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada.
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It has traditionally been held in October though some more recent editions were contested in November due to expanded playoffs and/or season delays.
New York (US)-based the National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams divided equally between the American Football Conference and the National Football Conference.
The NFL Draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League.
‘bnim.com’ further stated that in January 2024, independent of the Royals, the City and the County, Vince Bryant (Founder/Chief Executive Officer [CEO] of 3D Development) assembled a team of architects, real estate brokers, attorneys, and public relations (PR) professionals to conduct a deep investigation to see if the Washington Square Park could achieve the goals of both the community and the Royals. This team includes the 3D Development (Kansas City-based 3D Development builds contemporary spaces with historic elements inspired by the use and character of the original buildings), the BNIM Architects, Cushman & Wakefield (Chicago-based global commercial real estate services leader), Withers Brant (a law firm based in Missouri), and the Highline Partners (marketing agency in Kansas City).
Kansas City (US)-based BNIM is an employee-owned design company and innovative leader in designing high-performance, human-purposed environments. The services they provide – architecture, interior design, landscape design, sustainability leadership and consulting, graphic design, and planning – are guided by their core purpose: BNIM design and deliver beautiful, integrated environments to inspire change and enhance the human condition.
BNIM has been recognized with more than 600 awards for exceptional design and thought leadership, innovative technologies and cutting-edge research in architecture, planning and landscape design. Through a process of integrated design, which is both an organized collaboration between disciplines and an interweaving and interconnectivity of the building systems, the BNIM team creates designs that are both environmentally responsible and achieve the highest level of design excellence.
To achieve both the community and the team goals, the site must:
- Benefit the local businesses across the largest footprint possible;
- Deliver significant cost savings across the board;
- Have both abundant parking and easy access via public transportation; and
- Be welcoming to the families as a safe and fun destination.
Maintained Bryant, “We didn’t believe that the vote was the end of the story. As Crossroads businesses, we understood the concerns of our neighbors, but we also believed in the Royals’ desire to create something transformational for the City. After months of due diligence, which included sharing it quietly with our neighbors, we feel confident that this is a great home for the Royals.”
Stated Steve McDowell, Principal, BNIM, “It didn’t take long to see that this is the right site for the Royals and the people of Kansas City. For more than 50 years, we’ve worked in the Union Station District and a new ballpark here would leverage so many existing public and private assets. Even more, it connects to a civic tradition of what began two miles East at the historic now-demolished 35,561-capacity Municipal Stadium in Kansas City. This is the last piece of the puzzle in finishing the heart of the City.”
After months of due diligence, the team has arrived at the following conclusions:
Top Key Benefits
- Zero business displacements and disruptions and only one building demolition (the former Blue Cross building [an 18-story office tower] which will be vacated in 2025); and
- Unparalleled access by all modes of transportation, whether you walk, ride, drive, bike, or roll.
Access
- The new ballpark would be in the heart of the expanding Kansas City (KC) Streetcar (free, modern transit system) line: Fifteen (15) minutes to the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) and the Plaza (South) and 15 minutes to the Berkley waterfront and the 11,500-capacity CPKC Stadium (North);
- The Streetcar could serve up to 5,000 fans per gameday;
- Nine highway access points in all directions within a six to nine block radius;
- Convergence of eight four-lane roadways surround the park; and
- The potential of future commuter and regional rail service direct to the Union Station.
Parking
- Nearly 19,000 parking stalls within a four-block radius.
Hotel, Hospitality and Entertainment
- Direct connection to the Union Station, the Liberty Memorial (World War I Museum and Memorial), the Crown Center (shopping center), and the Crossroads Arts District (a creative neighborhood that’s home to the art galleries, restaurants, shops, and more);
- More than 1,700 hotel rooms within a four-block radius plus 4,500 more downtown;
- Walking distance to the hundreds of existing local retail/restaurant/bar establishments as well as the Power and Light District (a nine-block entertainment, dining and shopping district in downtown Kansas City);
- Connections to family-friendly attractions: The Science City, Legoland (theme park), the Kansas City (KC) Ballet (a professional ballet company and school), the Sea Life Aquarium, the KC Wheel (ferris wheel), the Coterie Theatre (performing arts theater), and more;
- Planned continued use of the Washington Park area as a public plaza and gameday assembly and activation; and
- Adjacent and activating toward the existing 47-acre Liberty Memorial Park.
National Exposure
- Reinforces the City’s national reputation;
- As host to the NFL Draft and the future FIFA World Cup™ Fan Festival, the site has proven to be one of the City’s most iconic backdrops; and
- With the downtown as the backdrop, the aerial coverage will show off the City in a way that supersedes any other potential location and spur even more national interest and outside investment.
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